An Hour From Bakersfield, California, Is A Ghost Town Museum That Looks Right Out Of A Western Movie

Just south of Lake Isabella in Bodfish, California, an hour's drive away from Bakersfield, is the Silver City Ghost Town, a one-of-a-kind relic that essentially doubles as a museum and is home to a collection of historic buildings that date back to the 1850s. While these buildings once housed and helped sustain California Gold Rush miners, they now sit in eerie decay, a preserved window into a time in history that continues to fascinate.

Wandering down dusty paths past weathered cabins, rusty horseshoes, and sun-bleached storefronts, visitors will feel like they've stepped onto the set of an old Western. "Can you hear the spurs clinking, gold pans swirling, and pick axes scraping? What atmosphere!" writes a reviewer on Tripadvisor. "The little ghost town is so cool. Takes you to the past of gold mining and gun fights," writes a visitor on Google. While the Kern River Valley offers plenty of things to do for adventurous travelers, from whitewater rafting to swimming, the Silver City Ghost Town is one of the more unique attractions in the area and offers visitors a rare chance to explore California's frontier past up close.

During California's Gold Rush, an estimated 300,000 people descended into California mining towns in search of gold. After they had thoroughly scoured the hills for shiny minerals, they packed up and moved elsewhere, abandoning the buildings where they once lived, worked, and attended school and church to the roaming burros and errant tumbleweeds. Over time, the structures in these former mining communities and frontier settlements, like Eagle Mountain, now California's largest ghost town, fell into disrepair until 20 of them were preserved and relocated to rest in their new Silver City Ghost Town site.

The museum has an eerie vibe, perhaps because the buildings are purposely maintained in a way that preserves their history and authentic appearance. The vibe could also be attributed to the mannequins on display, which showcase life in the Old West, or to the historic jail, which is rumored to be haunted. The museum is so authentic that it's been the filming location for a number of Wild West films and television projects, including a Nissan commercial.

Historical artifacts and signs posted throughout the property give glimpses into the history of the structures and the lives of the people who once occupied them. A small antique shop, overseen by the museum's resident tabby cat, sells unique antiques. Also located in Bodfish, about a 14-minute drive away from Silver City, are the Remington Hot Springs, a free-to-visit hot spring with unique geothermal pools, while about a 20-minute drive away is Kernville, a mountain town that mixes award-winning brews with outdoor thrills.